A twenty-seven-year-old office worker travels to the countryside while reminiscing about her childhood in Tokyo.
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- LivewireAdminOctober 6, 2025I was a little cold on Isao Takahata after seeing Grave of the Fireflies. That just didn't quite move me as much as Miyazaki's films but I was pleasantly surprised by Only Yesterday. It had a lot of heart, the English voice acting was great and I don't think I've ever disliked the animation from a Studio Ghibli film. Watching Taeko reminisce about her past while vacationing in the present makes for a really well structured story and one that will stay with you after the credits roll. Takahata was able to capture some of that Miyazaki magic and pull on your heart strings. letterboxd: FilmPhanPA
- Matthew AdamsAugust 21, 20258/10 I have to say, this is one of Studio Ghibli's more unique films. Not because it's fantastical or anything but the complete opposite. This film is relatively slow and completely grounded with zero fantastical elements. You follow a twenty seven year old on a trip to the country side, who on the way has memories of her fifth grade school year flood back to her. Throughout the film it goes back and forth between the present and her memories of fifth grade. When it's the memories the animation is slightly different with a dream like white hue to it to distinguish it from the present. I think it's a small detail that works great. Also this is based off of a book and it really shows. There's stretches in this film of two characters talking for ten minutes straight or a character narrating their work in a field. There's not a single other Ghibli film with this amount of dialogue and narration. It's exclusively reliant on its characters and dialogue instead of the typical fantastical elements of other Ghibli films. With all those factors at play they make this feel like the most mature Ghibli film.
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Only Yesterday was released on July 20, 1991.
Only Yesterday was directed by Isao Takahata.
Only Yesterday has a runtime of 1h 59m.
Only Yesterday was produced by Yasuyoshi Tokuma, Toshio Suzuki.
A twenty-seven-year-old office worker travels to the countryside while reminiscing about her childhood in Tokyo.
The key characters in Only Yesterday are Taeko Okajima (voice) (Miki Imai), Taeko Okajima as a 5-Year-Old (voice) (Yoko Honna), Toshio (voice) (Toshiro Yanagiba).
Only Yesterday is rated PG.
Only Yesterday is a Drama, Romance, Anime film.
Only Yesterday has an audience rating of 7.6 out of 10.
Only Yesterday has made $473K at the box office.